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Mental Health

Open, honest dialogue about mental health is so important. These posts offer perspectives often missing from the conversation.

Rooted in Rights 2023 and Beyond

Hello Rooted in Rights followers, contributors, and supporters! This is Allexa, the Director of Rooted in Rights (RiR), reaching out to you all to let you know of some changes to expect from RiR and some exciting things happening now!…
Against a bright yellow background, a small pile of earbud headphones, in different colors, is tangled up together.

Tangled: Exploring the Overlapping Symptoms of ADHD and Trauma

CONTENT NOTE: discussion of domestic/child abuse . . . . . . . . .   Hypervigilance, trouble focusing, dissociating, trouble maintaining relationships. These are only some of the common symptoms that overlap between ADHD and the effects of trauma. …
A close up of a yellow canary bird surrounded by white-petaled flowers with green leaves and gray-brown branches with green shrubbery in the background.

You Make Me Sick: The Dehumanizing Trauma of Disability Benefits Processes

CONTENT NOTE: in-depth discussion of trauma, including medical ableism, as well as brief mentions of childhood neglect and abuse, antisemitism, physical violence, and war/conflict . . . . . . . . . . . .   One Sunday in…
Stressed brown-skinned teacher with long, straight, dark hair in a colorful classroom, sitting at the toy table.

Removing the Stigma of Alcoholism in the Teaching Profession

CONTENT NOTE: detailed discussion of substance abuse and trauma . . . . . . . . . . .   I began drinking heavily during college when I took a semester off, moving from Boston back to Baltimore to…
A stack of envelopes with one on the top that says "past due" in bold red letters.

The Costs of Burdening People with Medical Bills for Involuntary Psychiatric Hospitalization

Years ago, when I was a third-year law student just a few credits away from graduating, I experienced a serious mental health crisis. My psychiatrist at the time involuntarily committed me to a private psychiatric facility in Oakland, California. Because…
The bottom half of a person sitting on a floor, holding a cell phone in their hand. They're in a black shirt and red pants, and the lighting surrounding them is dark purple.

“Left on Read”: Coping with Communication Anxiety

Content note: trauma, abandonment, emotional abuse Fall comes around again, and I’m feeling like an angsty poet. All I need to do is find my Bette Porter to inspire my love poems. Alas, all I have is my Chicano Oldies…
White person with shoulder length brown hair in a gray tshirt and jeans. They're sitting against a wall with their head buried in their lap and hand in front of their face.

Justice Should Not Mean Bringing Up Trauma for People with PTSD

Content notes: rape, violence, systematic injustice I used to call flashbacks time travelling. Partly to make light of the situation – is everything really that bad when you can compare it to a Doctor Who episode? (don’t answer that) – …
A painting of Frida Kahlo who has multicolored flowers in her hair, bright red lipstick, and earrings shaped like hands. She is against a background of bright green leaves.

Frida Kahlo: A Bisexual Disabled Mexican Artist Marginalised in Life but Celebrated in Death

Content note: brief mention of cyber assault and suicide I find myself wondering how Frida Kahlo became such an icon. After all, not everyone can claim they are disabled, bisexual female artists of Mexican descent who attempt to live their…
A person with shoulder-length dark hair sitting at the end of a bed, pensively facing an open window.

Intimacy After Trauma: Navigating Re-Entry Into a Pandemic World

Content note: eating disorders, COVID-19, sexual abuse, sex, trauma How do you let someone love you when you’re afraid of yourself? I first asked myself this at age 17, anorexic and emotionally isolated by the fear of what my body…